U.S. Must Try Darren Wilson Once St. Louis Grand Jury Charade Ends

Several witnesses say Darren Wilson shot Brown from a distance as he surrendered

In Ferguson, Missouri, we now hear a St. Louis grand jury decision may be near, in the execution-style killing of Michael Brown—and, apparently the widely reported secret is: that Officer Darren Wilson will be allowed to walk away scot-free.

Ferguson Mayor James Knowles’ even said in a statement that Ferguson Police must “prepare for the worst.”

Indeed, we must “prepare for the worst”—because we’re about to witness yet another miscarriage of justice where yet another White police officer will get away with murdering a Black man. In a supposed “post-racial” America the killing of Black people by White “law enforcement” officers remains much the same as it has been for decades.

And if indeed the St. Louis grand jury springs Wilson the federal government should quickly step in and take action. Let Darren Wilson test his alleged "self defense" --firing after an unarmed fleeing teenager then shooting him from a distance, in the eye and on the apex of his head before a trial jury.

The reality that the Ferguson grand jury is about to let this murderer go also seems evident as community leaders in Ferguson are asking authorities to give them 48 hours’ notice, before the decision—so they can enact plans to prevent any explosion of violence.

Last week, the “Don’t Shoot Coalition” released a 19-point “Rules of Engagement” plan aimed at creating an atmosphere where protesters can express themselves without being attacked by overzealous police.

Sadly, we have allowed those determined to undermine justice in this case to project, on us, a feeling, that, inevitably, there will be no justice for Michael Brown and his family. These people are banking on the fact that our resolve will be no stronger than in recent times when other Black men have been killed unjustly by White police officers.

Are we really going to go along with the status quo situation where the lives of Blacks are cheapened and devalued in this way?

During the protests, after the death of Michael Brown, many unlawful acts, of Ferguson cops, engaging in police abuse were reported. In fact, the world witnessed some of these despicable actions via video reports by news outlets, where police were seen donning military hardware—while firing teargas and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters.

The police even tried to curtail media reporting and arrested reporters—no doubt so they could conceal their brutal behavior and spin stories in their favor.

The disgraceful conduct of police, nationwide, should cause America to take pause and assess what is going on in police stations. Yet, after many of these outrages, many in so-called "mainstream" corporate America media don’t seem to care about the ever increasing militarization of police. Did you notice how silent those “law and order” politicians—particularly, in Washington—are whenever the atrocities of American police officers are in the news?

It's clear change needs to occur in police departments all over America and, especially, in Black neighborhoods—where community control needs to become the rallying cry. In Feguson Brown's execution exposed the apartheid police structure -- only three of the 52 police officers in a predominantly Black city are African American.

How long will policing in Black neighborhoods be dictated by outsiders—who don’t live in the community? Politicians on the local and national level must address enact legislation to change the way Black communities, like Ferguson, are policed.

Strict residency requirements must be enacted and enforced.

Would an overwhelmingly African American force be allowed to police predominantly White communities? Black America must wrest control of police policy in their neighborhoods.

Referring to the Ferguson Police department, Attorney General Eric Holder said “It’s pretty clear that the need for wholesale change in that department [Ferguson Police] is appropriate. The exact form of that change, I think we’ll wait until we complete our inquiry.”

The Justice Department is currently conducting civil rights inquiries into the Aug. 9 shooting death of Michael Brown—and one into whether the Ferguson Police engaged in systematic pattern of conduct regarding civil rights violations.

The Justice Department must also investigate the leaks aimed at assassinating the character of Michael Brown, portraying him as the aggressor in this deadly confrontation. In Washington, many attack—and prosecute—those who leak government documents and secret information. Since this grand jury proceeding is supposed to be held in secret—which is problematic in itself—why should these leaks, then, not be investigated as a legal violation?

These pages have already debunked the attempt to spin the alleged encounter between Wilson and Brown at the window of the police car into justification for the execution-style killing, including by publications such as The New York Times.

Wilson had two months to prepare his spin.

Multiple perversions of justice are at work here. First of all, why should the grand jury’s proceeding in this matter be held in secret, in a most undemocratic manner? If our leaders really believe in transparency, why aren’t these proceedings open to the community of Ferguson—and to the rest of America?

When this grand jury decides to let this murderer go, the very secret nature of this travesty of a grand jury will only make Blacks in Ferguson more convinced of the crooked nature of officials like prosecutor Bob McCulloch—who should have been recused by Governor Jay Dixon. Mr. McCulloch’s bias against Blacks was a point of contention from the very beginning. But Governor Dixon and politicians like Senator Claire McCaskill vouched for the supposed impartiality of McCulloch.

This prosecutor, who works regularly with Ferguson Police, allowed Officer Wilson to present his story of what happened—without the benefit of any cross-examination. What kind of strategy is that if one is trying to gain an indictment by a legal mechanism—which, we have always been told “can indict a ham sandwich?”

After Officer Wilson’s story was leaked, and certain ballistic reports were revealed, some have been trying to claim that the evidence exonerates Wilson. Somehow, we’re supposed to believe because there was a struggle during the initial encounter—at the police car—that Officer Wilson’s shooting of Mike Brown several yards away is somehow justified. This kind of twisted logic is even accepted by those who’re supposed to be pillars of the press.

Isn’t it strange, while we’re being told evidence now back the claims of Officer Wilson, that no one is talking about all the witnesses who tell basically the same story—that Mike Brown was shot down as he stood with his hands in the air surrendering to this officer? Why have we not heard any leaks about the testimony of the at least seven witnesses who say Officer Wilson murdered Mike Brown? Moreover, given this secret grand jury proceeding, how many of these people have they really called to testify?

Given the fact only Officer Wilson’s side of the story was leaked, we must wonder how seriously the information of these witnesses was received. Apparently, the Ferguson officials are trying to minimize the evidence that goes against Wilson by silencing the voices of these witnesses. Perhaps, these people believe that the testimony of Black people is irrelevant, when they are testifying against a White man—just as it was during the Jim Crow Era, where we saw all-White jury acquitting the White murderers of Black men.

Black America must get serious about battling the deadly scourge of police prejudice and violence that is negatively impacting a multitude of our people. Justice will not come from any of the courts, until we make the statements we need to make in the political arena—and in the streets.

How many more unarmed Black men must we see shot down in the streets like dogs before there is maximum mobilization to halt these repeated cycles?

Sadly, some of people are talking about “healing” when not even an apology—much less justice -- is forthcoming. The remorseless killings will continue unabated so long as people like Darren Wilson believe there is no penalty for gunning down unarmed Black males.